Which family name did Kenshin bear at birth?
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Nagao
The Nagao served the Uesugi as deputies in Echigo and became the strongest power there themselves.
💡 Did you know? He only received the name Uesugi at 31, through adoption.
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Which deity did Kenshin believe himself to be an incarnation of?
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Bishamonten
In Japanese Buddhism Bishamonten is the guardian of the north and a protector of warriors.
💡 Did you know? Kenshin’s banner bore the first character of the name, read “bi”.
Which nickname did Kenshin bear after his home province?
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Dragon of Echigo
Besides the banner with Bishamonten’s character he carried a second one with a dragon character, which signalled the attack.
💡 Did you know? His rival Takeda Shingen was the “Tiger of Kai”; dragon and tiger are a proverbial pair in Japan.
Where did Kenshin fight Takeda Shingen five times between 1553 and 1564?
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Kawanakajima
The fourth battle, in 1561, was the bloodiest; none of the five was decisive.
💡 Did you know? Shingen’s brother Nobushige and his strategist Yamamoto Kansuke fell on this field in 1561.
According to legend, what did Shingen use to ward off Kenshin’s blow in his camp?
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War fan
In 1561 at Kawanakajima Kenshin is said to have broken through alone to Shingen, who sat on his camp stool.
💡 Did you know? A monument on the former battlefield near Nagano shows exactly this moment.
According to legend, what did Kenshin send his enemy Shingen when his province was cut off?
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Salt
The Imagawa and the Hōjō had cut landlocked Kai off from the salt of the coast.
💡 Did you know? The story became a Japanese saying: “sending salt to the enemy” means helping an opponent in need.
Which castle of the Hōjō did Kenshin besiege in vain in 1561?
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Odawara
He marched before the castle with a large army of Kantō vassals but had to withdraw again.
💡 Did you know? That same year he took the name Uesugi through adoption.
In which battle did Kenshin defeat an army of Oda Nobunaga under Shibata Katsuie in 1577?
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Tedorigawa
Kenshin attacked the troops as they crossed the flooded river and put them to flight.
💡 Did you know? Nobunaga himself was not there; the two never met directly in battle.
In which year did Uesugi Kenshin die?
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1578
He collapsed in the middle of preparing a campaign against Nobunaga, probably after a stroke.
💡 Did you know? When the Uesugi were moved to Yonezawa in 1601, they took Kenshin’s remains with them; his tomb still stands there.
Which adopted son prevailed in the succession war after Kenshin’s death?
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Uesugi Kagekatsu
He defeated his adoptive brother Kagetora, a son of the Hōjō, who took his own life in 1579.
💡 Did you know? Kagekatsu later became one of the Five Elders whom Hideyoshi appointed for his son.
Foto: Utagawa Kuniyoshi · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
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Uesugi Kenshin
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